Cops: Man flees, strikes 8 vehicles, threatens officers with board

Anthony Joyner has been charged with unlawful possession of a fraudulent drivers license, aggravated assault against a police officer, domestic battery, fleeing and eluding police, attempted obstructing justice, leaving the scene of accident and driving without a valid license. (DuPage County Sheriff's Office photo)

A report of domestic violence spiraled into a series of crashes when the car driven by a fleeing suspect struck eight cars, Elmhurst police said.

The event began Tuesday afternoon when a police responded to a 911 call from a woman staying at the Spring Hill Suites reporting that she had been stabbed and a man was trying to kill her, according to police.

When police arrived, they saw a man leaving the hotel and driving southbound on York Street at a high rate of speed.

“He was driving down the middle of the street, hitting cars left and right,” Elmhurst Police Chief Michael Ruth said.

Eight cars were struck, and one person in one of the cars was injured, treated and released from Elmhurst Hospital, Ruth said.

An unmarked police car also was struck at York and Third streets. A man then fled the car, leaving it in gear. A police officer stopped the car, and others chased the suspect across the parking lot at Elmhurst City Hall and behind the building, police said. The man tried to climb a six-foot-tall wall behind city hall, but a board broke. Police said he then threatened officers with the board that had an exposed nails in it.

Police took him into custody.

Further investigation revealed that the woman who made the 911 call had not been stabbed. Police said she had been struck in the face by the man, who is her boyfriend. Police said they found a large number of fictitious identification and credit cards under several names.

Anthony Joyner, 33 of 243 Old Mill Court in Atlanta, Ga., has been charged with two counts of felony unlawful possession of a fraudulent driver’s license, one count of misdemeanor aggravated assault against a police officer, one count of misdemeanor domestic battery, one count of misdemeanor fleeing and eluding police, one count of misdemeanor attempted obstructing justice, one count leaving the scene of accident and one count of driving without a valid license, police said.

He is held in lieu of $40,000 bail at DuPage County Jail.

The woman, a 26-year-old from Indiana, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor attempted possession of fictitious driver’s license. She was released on her own recognizance.